Abs in Buenos Aires: A sí que bueno.

Great news--I had some interviews last night and they went pretty well. I talked to two guys that are part of the "board" of the organization...basically they are two of the four individuals that make most of the decisions for the group. ALSO, a few of the guys I talked to have visited Minnesota. One of them said, "Oh, Minneapolis, what a great city. Minnesota is really pretty!" He definitely won some cool points in my book....I feel like whenever I tell people I am from Minnesota, they just give me a blank stare. I also chatted with some members of the group and made a few contacts, so exciting! I am going to start to transcribe the interviews and then I can finally integrate them into my paper and maybe, just maybe....knock out a "rough" final draft this week.

I have been pretty lazy lately- mostly research stuff, grabbing lunch or coffee with some friends, walking around the city, and hanging out with my host family as much as I can. I feel like a part of their family and I think it's going to be really difficult to leave them. I guess I'll just have to visit again. Yesterday, we had a big Sunday lunch with my parents, the three kids and their significant others, and the main source of entertainment, Juli (Julian), my oldest host brother's baby. He has gotten so much bigger since I got here and is so CUTE. My oldest brother, Sebastian and his wife, Vanessa, are heading to Atlanta in a few days to visit Vanessa's brother for a few weeks. I made cookies for dessert, which turned out pretty good. I miss really awesome, baked goods back in the states. I mean the dulce de leche is good here and so is the ice cream, but nothing can beat a good, buttery cookie or bar. Also, my family's oven is a gas oven and it kind of freaks me out. Weird, right? I always make my host brother, Juan, light it for me because I just envision myself lighting my hair on fire. Like I said, freaky.

Besides hanging out today/conducting interviews, I slept a lot and went out with some friends to a Chinese restaurant in Belgrano. Belgrano is another barrio, above Palermo, and it is supposed to be even fancier than Palermo and more expensive. I would like to check it out during the day because they supposedly have a really cool China Town here (another thing to add to my "to do" list in Buenos Aires). The Chinese food was SUPERB. It was a nice break from meat, pasta, and pizza...

Lately, I have been envisioning what my life will be like once I return back home. It feels weird to call Minnesota "home" after living in Argentina for almost 4 months because I have formed a new home here. I have gotten so close with some people and it's weird to think that I won't see see everyone everyday. I also imagine myself speaking in Spanish to my family and friends, it seems so normal but I don't think there are many people in Duluth that would understand it....I suppose my Minnesooooootan accent will come back fairly quickly, ya know?

A few pictures that I downloaded recently:

Colonia, Uruguay